The goal of the conference is to empower youth parliamentary groups and help them to engage Members of Parliament (MPs) more effectively in issues around climate change.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) announces this call for applications jointly with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Background:Climate change is one of the major challenges facing the world. Many countries, especially developing nations, have already been impacted by climate change. This has affected their development as a result of adverse impacts on sectors such as agriculture, food security, human health and tourism and further exacerbated by ongoing pressures such as land degradation, water scarcity and underdevelopment.

Governments have an important role to play, providing information, incentives, and an economic environment to foster adaptation and mitigation actions, engaging in new opportunities such as those stemming from climate finance and green technologies. Parliaments have major responsibilities in the climate change and sustainable development agenda through their key role in developing and passing legislation and holding governments accountable to climate change related commitments and objectives.

ObjectivesBy participating in this conference youth leaders will:

deepen their knowledge and understanding of climate change;

develop a strategy on how youth can engage their national and/or constituency MPs on climate change issues;

develop a work plan on how the strategy can be operationalized and mainstreamed into national climate change development agendas;

be empowerd to become actively involved in climate change issues and encourage effective networking across regions for knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices.

Selection and Eligibility Criteria

Submit a completed two page application in English (see annex for the template) which summarizes:

Current involvement and a proven track record as a member of a Youth Parliament either at the local, national or international level for at least one year prior to the application;

A proven track record of involvement or affiliation with a registered organization or NGO, at least one year prior to the application, working on environment and/or climate change related issues;

Experience or knowledge in either sustainable development or youth leadership, development activities and/or climate change;

Effective communication and excellent written and oratory skills;

Citizenship from a Commonwealth African country and within the age group 18-30 years.

Have an interest in the Commonwealth and political affairs

Selected candidates will be expected to write a 15 page report during the conference session on how youth can better engage MPs to enhance transparency on climate change issues. Other items may be expected and will be communicated to participants.
Air travel cost at economy level, accommodation, and meals will be covered by WBI and CPA.

The outcome of this conference will be a report that will be incorporated into a future CPA / WBI publication on parliaments and climate change.

Submission deadline and further information:

Application Form
The applications must be submitted by midnight (24:00 hours) US Eastern Standard Time on 5 August, 2011 to Program team representative Iretomiwa Olatunji through email: iolatunji@worldbank.org. Successful applicants will be notified by 8 August, 2011. Further information or clarification can also be directed to Iretomiwa Olatunji by email or Tel: +1-202-473-8243.

MY ORGANISATION WILL LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CLIMATE CHANGE SPECIAL SESSION WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO HOLD IN LONDON BETWEEN 7th AND9th SEPTEMBER,2011. MY ORGANISATION IS MUSLIM YOUTH INITIATIVE (MUYI). MUYI IS BASED IN LAGOS AND IT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2000. IN THE LAST 11 YEARS, MUYI HAS BEEN ABLE TO CREATE ADEQUATE AWARENESS THROUG THE MASS MEDIA, SCHOOLS ANND COMMUNITY FORA ON THE NEED TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT. OVER 200,000 THOUSAND YOUTH HAVE BENEFITED IN OUR PROGRAMMES. WE HOPE TO DO MORE BY THE GRACE OF GOD. OUR PARTICIPATION AT THE SPECIAL SESSION WILL BE SYMBIOTIC AND BENEFIFICIAL TO THE SESSION,AFRICAN COMMUNITY, THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE ENTIRE GLOBE.ASD AMEMBER OF NIGERIA NETWORK ON NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION AND AS A FORMIDABLILE YOUTTH AND FAITHBASED GROUP, WE ARE EXPECTING INVITATION TO BE PART OF THE SESSION,THANKYOU AND GOD BLESS.
ALH BELLO N A
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR